Page 4 - Old Testament Survey Student Textbook- short

relationship of privilege and responsibility to another household by means of an oath. It is this concept
that made the outsider to be considered and treated as part of the family or bet ab. For example the
widows and orphans would greatly benefit because of this concept. Belonging to a family in this culture
was very cardinal because of the privileges and responsibility, but the opposite was not good. The
concept of covenant as mentioned earlier was not just between families or tribes but it was also
between kingdoms. The covenants between kingdoms can be categorized in two; the Parity treaty and
the suzerain/vassal treaty. The Parity treaty can also be called a “military alliance” because it was
basically between two super powers or even between petty kingdoms who wanted to defend each other
in case of a war. The Suzerain/vassal treaty on the other hand was between the weak and the strong
kingdoms. Often times the less powerful would seek help and sometimes be forced to submit by a
superpower (suzerain). This meant that the weaker (vassal) nation would submit and pay tribute to the
superpower in exchange for protection from enemies. The superpower was thus responsible for
protecting the vassal in case of a war. Rebellion from the vassal was considered as act of treason and
punishable sometimes by wiping out the entire people group.

The amazing part of this concept is that God used this very concept to communicate to His people,
Israel. Israel in this case would be considered a vassal nation to God, and God as the Suzerain. Just like a
Vassal nation was supposed to submit to the Suzerain Nation. Thus, the nation of Israel was supposed to
submit to God after he rescued them from Egypt. God as the Suzerain had the responsibility of watching
over His vassal. The beauty, however, about this story of God and the Nation of Israel is that God proved
himself better and different from the “suzerain” nations because he rescued Israel even before they
were obedient to him. Thus Israel was supposed to be obedient because of what God had already done.
He still promised blessings if they continued to obey and curses if they disobeyed. The Biblical and the
Near East concepts of a covenant were always sealed by an oath and sacrifice.

The practice of making covenants was very common in Israel especially when initiating and defining
international relations. Sandra L gives Joshua’s relationship with the Gibeonites as an example of
international relations of covenant making in the Near East. (Joshua 9:23-27 and 1 Kings 5:15) In this
case, the Gibeonites were a vassal nation to Israel. Israel would protect them when war broke out. As
mentioned earlier the covenant was always sealed by an oath and sacrifice. And often times the one
making an oath would pass between the sacrificed animals while swearing, “May what has happened to
these animals happen to me if I do not keep this oath.”

The Five different types in Covenants in Old Testament

There are basically six important covenants but for the purposes of this course we will
focus on five.

(A) NOAHIC COVENANT
The covenant which God made with Noah is also called re-creational covenant. God
destroyed the entire planet with water and then recreated it. God also was now
redefining his relationship with humanity for the first time since Eden. God was beginning
afresh with his fallen humanity. The covenant that God was making is a clear echo of (Genesis 1:28-30),

“Then God blessed Noah and his sons, saying to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the
earth. The fear and dread of you will fall on all the beasts of the earth, and on all the birds in the sky, on
every creature that moves along the ground, and on all the fish in the sea; they are given into your
hands. Everything that lives and moves about will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I
now give you everything. But you must not eat meat that has its lifeblood still in it.”
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